Tiffin City Schools revamping website

May 21, 2014

Tiffin City Schools is to launch a redesign of its website Friday, one that is intended to be cleaner, more modern and more organized.

It has been three years since the district had a new website design, said Marisa Brown, technology coordinator for the district.

"We have had feedback from the community since I began that the previous site is not very organized and parents can't find information efficiently," she said. "The design is to be a complete overhaul, with a completely new look."

The new site is to have a new tab specifically redesigned for parents, she said.

Brown said there is to be an attendance feature, and information such as who to call, can be accessed easier.

Another new feature is a photo gallery with higher-quality photos and an option for people to submit their own photographs.

Other features include six mobile sites for each school and individual teachers are to have their own sites as well, she said.

Also, the redesign is to be more friendly for Android and iOS operating systems, Brown said.

One new feature, Brown said, is an alert system for news and updates.

"A pop-up window is to come up to help alert the public about important need-to-know information such as an event or of a school cancellation," Brown said.

Google applications and the Google calendar is to be used, along with Google analytics, to help determine where site traffic is generated, she said.

The district has gone with a different company, Catapult Content Management System. The new design is to cost the district $5,250.

Brown said the district is to go live with the site Friday, but it is to be a work in progress.

Throughout the summer, she said, the district is to take feedback to see what is and is not working well, and to make tweaks where needed.

"It is our hope that parents, students and the community will find our new site easier to navigate," Brown said. "The summer will be spent adding photos and news and new areas to the site so that coming back this fall will be easier than ever before."